SÃO TOMÉ AND PRÍNCIPE

COUNTRY OVERVIEW

LOCATION AND SIZE.

São Tomé and Príncipe is located in the Gulf of Guinea
290 kilometers (180 miles) west of Gabon, which is located on the
western edge of Africa. The 2 mountainous main islands of the republic
are São Tomé and Príncipe; other rocky islets include
Caroco, Pedras, and Tinhosas off Príncipe Island, and Rolas off
São Tomé Island. The islands are the tips of an extinct
volcanic mountain range and make up one of Africa's smallest
countries. The country has an area of 1,001 square kilometers (386.5
square miles). The coast line is 209 kilometers (130 miles).
Comparatively the area of São Tomé is more than 5 times of the
size of Washington, D.C. The capital city of the country, São
Tomé, is located on the northeastern coast of the island of
São Tomé.

POPULATION.

The population of São Tomé and Príncipe was estimated at
159,883 in July 2000. In 2000, the birth rate stood at 42.98 per 1,000,
which is quite high. The death rate in the same year was 7.76 per 1,000,
giving an annual average population growth rate of 3.16 percent. The
life expectancy at birth is 65.25 years for total population, 63.84
years for males and 66.7 years for females. The population density in
1997 was 135.5 per square kilometers Democratic Republic of São
Tomé and Príncipe
República Democrática de São Tomé e
Príncipe
(351 per square mile). Ninety-five percent of the country's
population lives on the island of São Tomé and 46 percent of
the population lived in urban areas in 1996. São Tomé and
Príncipe is a country of young people with 48 percent of the
population below the age of 14, and just 4 percent of the population
older than 65.

The country's population is very diverse and represents mainly
descendants from different parts of the African continent. Ethnic groups
include mestico, ango-lares (descendants of Angolan slaves); forros
(descendants of freed slaves); servicais (contract laborers from Angola,
Mozambique, and Cape Verde); tongas (children of servicais born on the
island); and Europeans (primarily Portuguese). Roughly 80 percent of the
islanders are Christians, with representatives of the Roman Catholic,
Seventh-Day Adventist, and Evangelical Protestant faiths. The official
language of the republic is Portuguese; however, Lungwa São
Tomé (a Portuguese creole) and Fang (a Bantu language) are widely
used as well.

FISHING.

Fishing is another important economic activity of São Toméans.
The annual total catch of fish is estimated at about 3,000 tons. About
90 percent of the total local catch is provided by 2,300 fishermen. The
country's 160,000 square kilometer Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)
has a potential to produce about 12,000 tons of fish per year. The
EEZ—created by the United Nations Convention of the Law of the
Sea and completed in 1982—allows coastal nations to claim a
territorial sea of up to 12 nautical miles and an exclusive economic
zone of up to 200 nautical miles. The government uses this potential to
receive its second largest source of foreign exchange by issuing fishing
licenses to foreign fishing fleets. The government has prioritized the
development of this sector as part of its economic diversification
policy, but awaits significant foreign investments for development to be
realized.

FORESTRY.

The country had considerable forest resources, but these are in the
process of being depleted. In 1995 São Toméans produced 8,500
cubic meters of trunks and 3,150 cubic meters of processed timber.
Severe deforestation of the country speaks for itself: the rain forest
cover dropped to 28 percent of the land area and about 30 percent of the
rain forest is secondary forest. New legislation was introduced in the
1990s to protect the rain forest. The government also plans to create
national parks to protect the land, which should contribute to plans to
boost tourism.

TOURISM.

A big potential for the country lies within the fast-growing tourism
sector. Fantastic mountain scenery, breathtaking beaches, and unique
species of flora and fauna are big attractions for tourists. However,
high airfares, the extreme isolation of the islands, and underdeveloped
infrastructure
discourage potential tourists, although there were considerable
improvements in telecommunications and hotel accommodations in recent
years. This sector attracts the largest portion of foreign investments.
While in the early 1980s there was only 1 hotel, in 1996 there were
already 9 hotels and 9 guest-houses with a total of 520 beds. In 1996,
2,000 tourists visited the country bringing US$2 million in revenue; in
1998 there were about 6,000 foreign visitors who brought US$4 million.